Later date set for Perlitz trial on Haitian sex abuse charges

Published 11:56 pm, Tuesday, February 2, 2010

David Grudberg, attorney for Douglas Perlitz, leads Cheryl Perlitz, Douglas Perlitz's mother, into the Federal Courthouse in New Haven, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010. Douglas Perlitz, a Fairfield University graduate, is accused of sexually abusing Haitian boys who his charity supposedly was helping. less

Douglas Perlitz, a graduate of Fairfield University, talks about his missionary work with Haitian street children in a 2004 interview at the school.
A Bridgeport federal grand jury charges Perlitz sexually abused some of the Haitian boys he was supposedly helping. less

Douglas Perlitz, a graduate of Fairfield University, talks about his missionary work with Haitian street children in a 2004 interview at the school.
A Bridgeport federal grand jury charges Perlitz sexually ... more

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Reynolds and Krishna Patel, who are prosecuting Douglas Perlitz, leave the Federal Courthouse in New Haven on Feb. 2, 2010. Perlitz, a Fairfield University graduate, is accused of sexually abusing Haitian boys who his charity supposedly was helping. less

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen Reynolds and Krishna Patel, who are prosecuting Douglas Perlitz, leave the Federal Courthouse in New Haven on Feb. 2, 2010. Perlitz, a Fairfield University graduate, is accused ... more

NEW HAVEN -- Federal prosecutors have turned over 8,000 pieces of evidence to lawyers defending an honored Fairfield University graduate accused of sexually abusing 18 abandoned Haitian boys served by a charity he founded to provide them with education, food and shelter.

"There is a ton of material to look at and we haven't even scratched the surface yet," said Dow, who also is busy preparing for the March federal trial of James Botti, a Shelton developer accused of bribing officials in that city.

Perlitz, formerly of Fairfield, appeared before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton Tuesday morning. There, he pleaded not guilty to nine charges of traveling from the U.S. to Haiti to engage in sexual activity with nine different boys between 1998 and 2004 and 10 charges of engaging in sexual activity with minors in a foreign land between 2003 and 2008 with 10 different boys. Each of the charges carries a maximum 30-year prison sentence.

On hand during Tuesday's proceedings were Perlitz's mother, Cheryl; his brother, Thomas, and Thomas Tisdale, a Fairfield lawyer and longtime supporter of Perlitz's program in Haiti.

Once the pleas were entered, Arterton discussed scheduling issues with the defense and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Krishna Patel and Stephen Reynolds, who are prosecuting Perlitz. Immediately the judge tentatively rescheduled jury selection to May 5 with the trial starting a month later.

Arterton explained that a month leeway between jury selection and the start of the trial is needed to enable the prosecution to bring the alleged abuse victims from Haiti to Connecticut.

"It's a very extended process," Patel said. The prosecutor said the Haitian National Police, Haitian government and U.S. State Department would be involved in the process.

"I can't guess how many victims will show up. If they all show up, a trial could last a month," Patel said, pointing out that most of the testimony from Haitian witnesses would have to be translated because they speak Creole or French. "But I can't sit here and say every victim will show up."

Another possible obstacle is the impact of the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital city.

While the victims are all believed to be living in Cap-Haitien, which is about 80 miles north of Port-au-Prince and was not damaged by the earthquake, some records relating to the investigation, as well as the Haitian National Police team, are based in the capital. Birth records also may have been kept in the capital.

A key to Perlitz's defense could be the age at the time of the sexual acts of the "complainants," as Dow calls them, or "victims," which the prosecution prefers. Several of the males are now in their mid-20s.

Arterton said she will have a better indication of when the trial should start once she rules on a defense motion to dismiss the indictment. She expects to conduct a hearing before March 12 on their requests. One of their claims is the indictment is constitutionally defective because it does not include specific dates and places where the alleged sexual abuse occurred in Haiti.

Meanwhile, Patel said she does not anticipate bringing any more sexual abuse charges against Perlitz.

She said the investigation is ongoing and any additional charges would be brought in a separate indictment.

Perlitz, a 1992 Fairfield University graduate, first visited Haiti during his junior year on a campus ministry mission volunteer trip. He said that visit inspired him to begin a school in Haiti to help street children.

After earning a master's degree in theology at Boston College, Perlitz returned to Haiti to work as a pastoral minister at Sacre Coeur Hospital in Milot, Haiti, in 1997. That same year, he received a grant from the Order of Malta, a Catholic religious organization, which he used to establish Project Pierre Toussaint.

In 2002, Fairfield University awarded Perlitz an honorary degree and chose him as a commencement speaker.

Federal agents have been tracing money raised for Project Pierre Toussaint and how it was spent. Investigators suspect Perlitz may have used some of the funds to buy silence from some victims and property for himself. Perlitz controlled the Cap-Haitien bank account into which most of the money went.